


It's Gonna Be May

by velourianspirit



Category: & Juliet - Martin/West Read
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, April is great at explaining things, Basically, Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon Pansexual Character, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, France (Country), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm sorry for the Angst, Juliet is trying to be a good friend but doesn't realise what she's doing, Loss of Parent(s), Love at First Sight, May & Francois are soulmates, May's family are supportive, Modern Era, Other, Relationship Problems, Romantic Soulmates, Sexuality Crisis, THIS IS SO LONG, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, and maybe she's a lesbian and what about it, angelique and april give the best advice, but also loves his dead wife, but no one gets angry at Juliet because her intentions are pure, i gave may a little sister called cordelia, i love you angelique, i think Francois is canon pansexual anyway, i'm spending time developing these relationships because we don't get enough of them, it's basically &j told through may & francois' eyes but also it's an alternate universe, kind of???, lance is a shitty father, lance just really loves angelique, lots and lots of angst, may and francois deserve more, my babies are just trying, protect angelique at all costs, sorry to francois' dead mum, soulmate au where you can only see colour after meeting your soulmate, stan May & Francois for clear skin, these tags are a fucking nightmare, wrap her in bubble wrap, wrap them all in bubble wrap, yes this is a rewrite and what about it, you're great i love you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25446400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velourianspirit/pseuds/velourianspirit
Summary: You can only see colour when you met your soulmate.May is eighteen, and is losing hope quickly. Everyone around them seems to have found their soulmate, but May still hasn't, and they're fed up of feeling left out because of it. But when May's best friend, Juliet, loses her soulmate, everything changes.François' father keeps throwing him elaborate parties, but François isn't really a party person. Besides, he knows that it's just his dad trying to set him up with the supposed best-of-the-best of France.Their worlds are so far apart, but suddenly they collide.
Relationships: Angelique/Lance (& Juliet), Francois/May (& Juliet)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	It's Gonna Be May

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I wrote this again. I lost a lot of love for writing over quarantine but I found it again for this specific couple, so I'd thought I'd rewrite it. I hope you enjoy the rewrite because I really enjoyed rewriting it! ~VS
> 
> P.S. I'll probably change the summary soon. It's a bit shit. I'm not good with summaries.

Not being able to see colour was the norm for people who hadn’t met their soulmate. Like everyone else in the world, May was born, and the world was just colourless. And even though they couldn’t see the colours that their mother could see, May still found the beauty in things. After coming out publicly as non-binary, May went shopping with their mother, who described the colours of clothes they liked; and so, their love and obsession for highly-detailed corsets and every single shade of purple began.

May’s mother met her soulmate when she was seventeen, but May hoped they didn’t have to wait that long. Somehow, their little sister, Cordelia, had gotten extremely lucky & met her soulmate when she was fourteen. The world was still beautiful, but the way Cordelia described colour almost made May jealous. Why did they have to wait to see the world in its fullest form?

By the time May was eighteen, they still couldn’t see colour. They longed desperately to see the soft purples and yellows that they donned with pride. 

And still, everything changed when May met Juliet. Juliet was an eager, enigmatic thirteen-year-old who May had bumped into by chance in the bustling, boisterous crowds of Verona. While May’s world didn’t spark with colour, Juliet’s presence and bubbly personality was practically otherworldly in its own right. She didn’t care about May’s gender, or their sexuality, or the fact that they were eighteen and still couldn’t see colour. Despite being the only daughter of Lord & Lady Capulet, she was larger than life itself.

Just like May’s sister, Juliet was lucky, too. Meeting her soulmate by chance was one thing, but meeting him in the same city was another thing --  _ and  _ she was only thirteen. Despite being so young, her world was suddenly flushed with colour, and her whole life was ahead of her. Even so, there was a problem -- her soulmate was Romeo Montague, the only son of the Montagues.

The Montagues & The Capulets were sworn rivals, and despised each other to the very bone. Even so, fate had made its mind up, and there was no changing the fact that Romeo and Juliet were certainly meant to be with each other for the rest of their lives. Rival worlds were being forced together, almost as if fate had grown exhausted with the ways of the families.

Juliet’s parents were ridiculously appalled by the news that fate had paired their only daughter with Romeo, but May was personally offended at how they reacted to hearing that their daughter had found her soulmate. Soulmates were forever, and nothing they believed would change that. Her nurse, a passionate woman named Angélique, was essentially Juliet’s surrogate mother -- while she was slightly displeased by the news, her allegiance with Juliet was very strong, and her disappointment quickly faded.

And even though Juliet’s parents  _ knew  _ that Romeo and Juliet were destined to be together for the rest of their lives, they refused to let Juliet out of the house to see him. Juliet resorted to a cunning plan; in a last-resort attempt to escape the clutches of her parents and live her life with Romeo, Juliet planned to fake her death. She acquired a sleeping potion from Friar Lawrence, but Lawrence’s messenger failed to get the message to Romeo in time; thus, Romeo took his own life, not realising what Juliet had done.

She had been informed that, if your soulmate died, you’d lose all ability to see colour again. Strangely enough, it didn’t happen for Juliet -- when Romeo died, all colour remained for Juliet, which kept her spirits slightly lifted during the grieving process and the funeral.

May visited Juliet a few hours after the funeral. “I can’t imagine the heartbreak you must be feeling,” they said, holding Juliet’s hand as a gentle sign of support. “I mean, losing your soulmate when you’ve only just found him... that sounds terrible, Jules. I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you at the funeral -- there were so many people there.”

“I know,” sighed Juliet. “Funnily enough, they were  _ all  _ Romeo’s exes!”

“ _ Really? _ ”

“Right? But listen, May,” continued Juliet, squeezing May’s hand tightly before she jumped to her feet. “I know I should be devastated, right -- and I am, but… you know, Romeo lived his life, and maybe this is a chance to start living mine!”

“Do you think you’ll be alright without him?”

“I mean, it hurts to not have him around, even though we barely saw each other. My world definitely feels emptier, like I’m missing something, but… because I’m so young, there’s no way I can live the rest of my life with a dark cloud hanging over my head. My parents want to send me to a nunnery for having a soulmate from the wrong family, but they can’t rewrite my fate. Maybe  _ I  _ can. Maybe -- maybe we should go travelling, May!"

May smiled in agreement; just as they moved to reply with eager optimism, an eager, quirky voice interrupted their train of thought. “Juliet!”

“April!” exclaimed Juliet as April, a very good friend of Juliet & May, practically stumbled her way into Juliet’s bedroom, a bright smile written across her lips. “Oh, your timing couldn’t be better! I just suggested to May that we all go travelling; oh, won’t you come with us? You have to!”

If May were to make an educated guess, they’d say April was in her mid-to-late thirties. She was so lovely -- just as bubbly as Juliet, probably because she’d found her soulmate like Juliet had. She was married to her soulmate, a writer, and had two children with him. April desperately tried to act younger than she was, to little avail, but it made her an interesting character.

“We have to get out of here and try something new!” said Juliet, taking April’s hand as well as May’s, a beautiful, beaming smile running across her face as they looked out of Juliet’s big bedroom window at the sky. It only dawned on May that they were the only person in that room who couldn’t see colour, and suddenly, everything felt so unfair. They didn’t want to resent Juliet -- they  _ loved  _ Juliet like a sister, but why did Juliet’s colours remain when Romeo died? Why was she so lucky?

“Juliet!” shouted Angélique. “I feel like this is a very bad idea. What will your mother think if she hears of this?”

“I don’t care what she thinks,” said Juliet. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. I’m getting out of here!”

May was already ready to travel and see the world -- it was one thing travelling alone, but travelling with your best friend was another thing entirely. Plus, there was always a chance that May could bump into their soulmate at any given moment. Going abroad was actually a good idea considering that they could be anywhere in the world. Realistically, even though Juliet, April and Cordelia had been lucky, not everyone was.

As a group, they decided to go to Paris, which was one of May’s dream travel destinations, anyway. It was a long journey involving a lot of naps, toilet breaks and far too many snacks, but it was all worth it once they pulled up outside of the hotel they’d booked. Even without colour, Paris was otherworldly levels of beautiful to May, who hadn’t exactly been outside of Verona since they were born. Even so, despite Paris being a stunning place, May did feel sightly out of place amongst their friends. Juliet, April and Angélique had all found their soulmates, and saw the world as it was meant to be seen.

“May, you okay?” asked Juliet, noticing their friend’s sudden silence. “You look upset.”

“I’m fine,” insisted May, lying to themselves, knowing that April & Angélique were both excellent at reading expressions.  _ Probably a bad move,  _ thought May. “I just got overwhelmed by this place, that’s all. What were you saying?”

“April’s just found this flyer,” said Juliet, scooting over to May. “There’s this fancy ball tonight in the centre of the city. It might be a bit overwhelming, but we could give it a shot, and if not, we’ll try something else!”

“It sounds perfect.”

* * *

Even though it was his eighteenth birthday, François wasn’t sure he needed another soirée. His father was insistent on throwing them on a regular basis, hoping that François would eventually find his soulmate on the dance floor, but he hadn’t had a shred of luck in that department. And while the renaissance-themed soirée was disguised as François’ birthday party, he was well aware that it was just another party that his father was hosting, hoping that his son would have some success in finding his soulmate.

A few years ago, his dad was extremely against celebrating birthdays, and refused to hold birthday parties for any of his three sons for no particular reason. Even so, François was sure it was because his dad had been affected with sudden trauma; not only had François’ mother died after a long battle with illness, the family’s wet nurse decided to leave the family and move back to Italy.

“François! This is quite the soirée, don’t you think?” asked his father, Lance, walking outside with his elaborately patterned cape draped over his shoulders, a flute of champagne in his left hand.

“Yeah, it’s an alright soirée. Nothing to be, ah…  _ soirée  _ about,” joked François, nerves creeping up his spine as his father approached him. He wouldn’t ever admit it to his father, but François was tired of keeping his eyes open as he looked out for his soulmate with desperation.

“Come now, son. I threw this soirée just for you, after all? Don’t you want to find your soulmate? And even if you don’t tonight, it won’t do you any harm having a little fun.”

“I do, it’s just… look, Dad, we’ve thrown so many soirées over the past two years, Dad, and I’ve still not met them yet. All of the people in there are the same; rich, young men & women who I’m  _ sure  _ must’ve been at least two of these soirées each. If I was going to find my soulmate at one of these soirées, surely it would’ve happened by now.”

“Look, my dear boy. I know you have not succeeded with this in the past, and even if you do not find your soulmate tonight, there is nothing to say you cannot settle down with a nice young woman for a few years. It took me a long time to find your mother myself. You cannot just sit around and wait for your soulmate to find you, François. Perhaps you could follow in the footsteps of your brothers and join the Army.”

François shook his head. He wanted to find his soulmate soon, but he didn’t know where they would be. They could be anywhere in the world, and that seemed to be the case. His father’s words stayed with him as Lance walked back into their extravagant manor.  _ You cannot just sit around and wait for your soulmate to find you, François _ . 

Maybe he was right. Maybe it would do François some good to listen to his father, for once. 

After all, he was sick of seeing black and white.

* * *

Juliet, April and even the partially disgruntled Angélique were all having a good time. While there were a few moments where they had to blend into the shadows to avoid the bouncers, the ball was fun. They definitely weren’t wearing the right clothes for the occasion, meaning a fair few people exchanged confused glances when the group ushered through the crowds, but most people didn’t seem to mind.

Even without seeing a drop of colour, the ballroom was beautiful. There was an intricate, gorgeous chandelier that was the true centrepiece of the room; upon seeing it, it took May’s breath away. The people were dressed in rich, luxurious clothes that May wouldn’t dream of seeing in Verona, and they could only imagine that they were even more jaw-dropping when in their truest, fullest forms. The staff walked by holding platters of champagne flutes and canapes, and smiled courteously when anyone took anything.

Despite the environment being  _ exactly  _ what May liked, they were plastered against a wall, swirling their fancy cocktail around in its glass.

They knew why their friends were having such fun. The party wasn’t just great -- they could see colour, and May couldn’t. Even though May inherently loved the idea of crashing a ball, they couldn’t exactly throw the night away like their friends could. Angélique was letting herself go. Juliet and April were dancing and having the time of their lives on the dance floor, practically howling and wiping away joyful tears.

And then there was May, acting as if  _ they  _ were the one who’d lost their soulmate.

_ Fuck it,  _ thought May, downing the rest of their cocktail and slamming the glass on a nearby table.  _ I can’t just stay miserable forever.  _ Seizing the moment, May wandered mindlessly towards their friends, excited to get the night started, when--

They bumped into someone. He was shorter than May, and donned a sleeveless jacket decorated with several fleurs-de-lis. Though they couldn’t see the true colour of his hair, it was dark and curly, sticking up in a cute, defiant way. He looked nervous -- it was showing especially through his eyes, which were widened with panic, likely a result of bumping into May.

“Sorry!” he said.

“Oh, no, my bad,” returned May, barely looking the boy in the eye. May reached for their intricate crown to readjust it, only to be surprised when the nameless boy reached up for May’s crown himself.

“Here, let me,” he said, adjusting May’s crown with ease. May felt the heat rising rapidly in their cheeks, and almost prayed that the nameless boy was like them. “Sorry, have I seen you before?”

“Oh, sorry, my friends and I weren’t on the guest list and we thought--,” started May, only to be cut off by the boy.

“It’s fine! Enjoy the party,” voiced the boy. And like that, he was gone, leaving May with nothing but a soft smile as he dodged the crowds, ducking away into the unlit corners of the ballroom.

May felt… confused, to say the least. The boy was nice, extremely polite, and was very,  _ very  _ cute, even though May didn’t fully know the intricacies of his appearance. They felt butterflies in their stomach thinking back to the small, sweet exchange; in a very strange way, it made May’s heart feel extremely full for the first time in a long time. Closing their eyes, a large smile slipped over May’s lips.

And when they opened their eyes, their world was suddenly blossoming with colour. Vibrant golds, exuberant pinks, soft purples, pleasant yellows -- suddenly, everything made sense. It was only when May heard someone mutter something in French that they realised the world hadn’t stopped around them. Slowly, they retreated to the bathroom, barely being able to make sense of the beautiful world around them.

Their soulmate was a boy they’d bumped into on the dance floor, and they didn’t even have his name.

Walking into what May thought was the toilets, they were surprised to be greeted by a particularly muscular man, who was cleaning away at a plush loveseat situated by some sinks. “Sorry, is this the ladies’ room?”

“Oui,” said the man, who May assumed was a bathroom attendant. He looked at May, eyeing them intensely. “It is a room for tout le monde. There is a toilette for mademoiselles over there, and a toilette for monsieurs over there.”

Despite having pulled their gaze away from the bathroom attendant, May could practically feel the bathroom attendant’s eyes fixed on them. Most people were indifferent about May’s identity, really, but May didn’t have a clue about French culture and how they would react to May, a person of colour who didn’t conform to labels when it came to their identity. Taking a deep breath, they swirled around and stared at the reflection in the mirror.

Cordelia always made sure she had the time to do May’s makeup, because she could see colour when May couldn’t. May carried around eyeshadow and lip gloss even when Cordelia wasn’t with them, because Juliet was a great helping hand, and she was always eager to touch up May’s makeup if it was needed. Now, they could see themself in their truest form; a lovely gold shimmer was painted beautifully onto May’s eyelids. Matched with a soft touch of brown powder that Juliet used around the edges, May felt true euphoria as they looked at their reflection. 

“May! There you are,” said Juliet, a bright smile appearing across her lips as she wandered into the bathroom, her jacket flipped over her arms. It was such a beautiful pink, and May couldn’t help it; they smiled as they saw Juliet as her best self. “Oh, how does my hair look?”

It looked fine. Of  _ course  _ it did -- she was Juliet, after all, and there was no way that Juliet could ever look like a mess. “I’m sorry,” said May, turning to the bathroom attendant, “but could you give us some privacy, please?”

With a quick and polite ‘of course’, the bathroom attendant left, leaving May and Juliet to the quiet confines of the bathroom’s main space. “Okay, bathroom attendants? Is this place chic or what? I’ve  _ never  _ seen a bathroom attendant in my life.”

“Yeah, it’s very chic,” agreed May; and while they did inherently agree to Juliet’s statement, they weren’t entirely tuned into the conversation, thinking about their soulmate, instead. They were thinking about everything. For the first time in eighteen years, they could see it all. 

“Are you alright, May?” asked Juliet, evidently concerned as she looked at her best friend.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m all good.”

“Are you sure?” she continued, her eyebrows furrowing. “I mean, I know you, May. I think I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. Your whole demeanour and body language is telling me you’re lying.”

“It’s nothing,” lied May. It was the exact opposite of nothing; it was everything May wanted at once, and May didn’t know if it was the right time or place to tell Juliet that they’d finally found their soulmate. “It’s just… well, I bumped into a guy on the dance floor. It was nice, you know?”

“Cute,” said Juliet. “Did he… was he, you know?”

“I don’t know,” sighed May, yet again lying.

“Oh. Well, that’s a shame,” sighed Juliet. “It’ll happen eventually, you know. And even if it doesn’t happen today or tomorrow, it  _ will  _ happen.”

May inhaled softly. They didn’t know  _ how  _ they’d tell Juliet, but they had to get it done. Juliet had to be the first person to know. “You know, Jules, pink is your colour.”

“Thank y--,” started Juliet, smiling softly; and suddenly, her face fell. The cogs were turning, and May could see it in her big eyes. “Wait! Are you serious? It happened?”

May nodded, and yelped as Juliet practically sprinted over to May, giggling like a kid and holding them in a tight hug. “Alright, alright, we’re trying to be incognito!” whispered May, laughing softly.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just -- you’ve waited for  _ such  _ a long time, May, and you’ve finally found him,” whispered Juliet, holding May’s hands. “It’s that guy, isn’t it?”

“I’m certain it’s him.”

“Well, don’t lock yourself up in here! Go back out there and find him, May! You know what he looks like, right? And I know this place is big, but he can’t have gone  _ that  _ far. He must’ve felt it too -- you can’t just sit here and let him walk away! We’re in Paris. The city of love. If you just let him walk away and you don’t see him again, what happens then?”

“Yeah, yeah… you’re probably right,” managed May, a little overwhelmed by Juliet’s eagerness and the overall situation. Though they were happy to have finally found their soulmate, they were so anxious. Juliet was right; the place was big, and he could be hidden in any room. And what if they hadn’t got it right? What if their soulmate was someone else, and they’d just guessed it was the guy they’d bumped into moments before the world blossomed? “Juliet, when you first met Romeo, did it take a while for your colours to show up or not?”

“Oh, it was really quick,” replied Juliet, still holding May’s hands. “It wasn’t even five minutes later, and it happened. I don’t think it’s the same for everyone, though. We should ask  Angélique or April.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” agreed May. “I’ll go and find one of them. You’ll be alright on your own, yeah?”

“Don’t you worry about me, May,” whispered Juliet, squeezing May’s hand as a silent sign of good luck. “Get out there and find your soulmate. That matters more than anything else in the world.”

* * *

François was sick of the intensity of the dance floor. In all fairness, he’d grown sick of it a long time ago, knowing that the fabulous soirées were just cover-ups. His father was growing ridiculously impatient with how long it was taking François to actually find his soulmate, and the increasing amounts of soirées were to show for it.

The only remotely positive thing to come out of the party so far was when François bumped into that person. It was a complete accident, but François didn’t exactly regret it. They were slightly taller than him, and wore a jumpsuit that was paired with a detailed corset. François liked the little exchange with the anonymous person, but he hadn’t seen them since the incident.

In a very strange, roundabout way, he actually wished he could be bumping into them again. He hadn’t felt such euphoria like it ever, but when he bumped into that person, the world seemed to make sense again. François was probably reaching at straws, but maybe that person was his soulmate. 

Then again, his world was still black and white, so he was almost definitely reaching at straws.

Bored of the monotony of the dance floor, François ducked away quickly and beelined towards one of the several music rooms in the palace, and was particularly satisfied when he saw it was completely empty, with not a soul to be seen. It was one of his favourite music rooms, actually; after his mother’s death, François spent a lot of time in the palace’s luxurious music rooms, but found a sprout of solace when he sat in that very room, tinkering with the untouched virginal that was practically chucked into a corner. He preferred to practice alone; when he was younger, the family dabbled at the concept of a family band, but François’ confidence had gone out of the window completely as he grew up.

He took a seat at the virginal and started playing Overprotected by Britney Spears. François felt stupid to find comfort in a  _ Britney Spears  _ song, of all things, but the lyrics were ridiculously relatable. He enjoyed playing to no-one. Of course, there was no telling that people walking past the music room wouldn’t hear him singing his heart out, but he was enjoying himself nonetheless.

“What am I to do with my life?” sang François.

“You will find it out, don’t wor--,” started an unknown, feminine voice, startling François with such a shock that he practically fell off the seat of the virginal, his heart racing in his chest as he turned around to face the person who’d interrupted his private performance. “Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I wasn’t scared,” managed François. “I was surprised!”

“No, no, it’s my fault,” insisted the girl. “It’s just… well, I’m not supposed to be at this party.”

“That’s okay,” said François, casually running his hand through his askew hair in an attempt to stay cool. The girl was obviously young, and it was pretty embarrassing to be scared of a young girl who clearly didn’t mean any harm. “It’s my party.”

“Is it?” said the girl, her eyes wide as if she were a deer caught in headlights.

“Yeah, but I won’t tell anyone.”

A grateful smile grew across her lips. “Juliet,” she said. “And you are?”

“François.”

“ _ Frankie! _ ”

“Uh, Dubois.”

“ _ Deboi! _ ”

“François Dubois.”

“ _ Frankie Deboi! _ ” said Juliet, butchering François’ name with innocence. All François could do was shake his head, laughing quietly to himself. “Well, what’s in a name? So, are you like a prince or something? I mean, this place is  _ huge. _ ”

“No, no. I’m a musician,” said François. “As you can see, I play the virginal.”

“Oh, me too!” added Juliet. “I feel like doing it once just doesn’t count.”

François’ eyes widened as he realised exactly what Juliet had thought he meant; she seemed to have missed the point completely, and did not realise that they were, in fact, standing between a musical instrument. “I play this virginal right here.”

“This is the virginal?” questioned Juliet, walking over to the keyboard instrument. “You know what, I thought you meant… uh, anyway; are you in, like, a band or something?”

“We have a family band,” explained François. “My father, brothers and I used to perform together.”

“Dope. The girls must be all over you.”

“Um, nope,” he added, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. “No, I’m not really into drama or big performances.”

“That is  _ so  _ refreshing! You know, my ex, Romeo, he was like… actually, never mind. The last thing I should be doing right now is thinking about Romeo,” sighed Juliet, shaking her head to herself.

“Well, at least you  _ have  _ an ex. You know, my father keeps throwing these parties hoping I’ll find my soulmate -- and if I don’t, he wants to set me up with someone, but if I do marry someone, I want to be able to say I did it my way.”

“Exactly! It’s like our parents think that just because they raised us, they can decide our entire future for us!” agreed Juliet.

“That’s exactly it!”

“Doesn’t it make you just want to drink a bunch of poison or something?” asked Juliet. François hoped that she was joking, but her facial expressions said otherwise, surprising him with how quickly she’d jumped to a very questionable conclusion.

“Nah.”

“No, me neither,” she continued, obviously backtracking on her previous statement.

“No, it makes me want to gouge my own eyes out sometimes,” said François -- and the worst thing was, it was true. The death of his mother had happened so quickly after the family’s wet nurse decided to move back to Italy, and it turned Lance into a very controlling parent, likely as a result of the grief & having no one to rely on. There was an immense amount of pressure on François’ shoulders, and he hated it.

“It’s exactly that!”

“You know, it’s nice to meet someone who finally understands,” sighed François, taking a seat at the virginal and leaving plenty of room for Juliet to join him if she wished. The two started to sing Overprotected again, and almost reached the end when they were abruptly interrupted by Lance, who waltzed into the music room with a French girl poised on his arm. A normal person would say she looked elegant, but all François saw was his father trying to set him up with someone  _ again. _

_ And just as I was starting to feel comfortable,  _ thought François.

“François! There you are,” said Lance in his terribly commanding voice. He looked briefly over at Juliet, who he clearly didn’t recognise, but seemed to dismiss her entirely as the room shifted to the young woman poised on Lance’s arm. “This is Madeleine of Valois. She is a princess, and the jewel of France.”

_ Another princess, Dad? Really? Can’t you come up with any original ideas? _

“Oh!” said Juliet, stepping forward and putting herself in the scene, which probably wasn’t going to do François any good. His father’s powerful gaze rested on him, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it. “Nice to meet you, Vaseline.”

“Actually, it’s  _ Madeleine _ ,” spat Madeleine, strong amounts of venom in her voice, making 

François visibly cringe. What was Juliet  _ doing?  _ She was bold, to say the least, but her actions were undoubtedly going to get François in trouble, especially if he found out that she wasn’t actually on the guest list.

“Oh,” sighed Juliet.  _ Stop. Stop. For the love of God, please stop.  _ “Well, I may not be a princess, but I was here first, so you can take a big step back.”

“Excusez-moi?” asked Lance, stepping between Madeleine and Juliet, his eyes scarcely moving away from Juliet. She was so naive, it was actually painful to watch -- Lance had  _ clearly  _ realised that Juliet wasn’t on the guest list, and she was definitely becoming more and more of François’ responsibility as each second passed. 

“Oh, you’re excused,” said Juliet. She was so blissfully unaware of how damaging her actions could be, and that frightened François.

“She will be waiting, François,” drawled Lance, still retaining his seriousness as he glanced over at François with a particularly stern look before walking out of the music room with a somewhat deflated Madeleine in tow.

“Are you out of your  _ mind _ ? He will  _ never  _ let me get away with that!” exclaimed François as soon as he imagined Lance was out of earshot, panicking and instinctively running his hands through his big curls.

“What’s he gonna do?”

“If I don’t find my soulmate or marry someone soon, he’ll send me to the Army! I swear, if I have to dance with one more princess,” said François, letting the words speak for themselves. He was sick of dancing with young women who were pretty, but ultimately weren’t the right person for him. None of them were the right person; he wanted to find his soulmate, and he  _ certainly  _ didn’t want to join the Army.

“Swear not at all! Deny thy father, refuse his game! It’s time for us to stand up for ourselves and make our own choices and take control!” declared Juliet, running over to François with intent in her eyes.

“Yeah, I know, but if I don’t dance…”

“Oh, don’t worry, Frankie. We’re gonna dance.” With a bold smile, Juliet grabbed his hand. “Are you ready?”

* * *

May had only had a few minutes with April, who’d given them some sound advice regarding their soulmate. April had met her soulmate on a rainy day, and that was that. It wasn’t all too hard for April because she lived in the same town as her soulmate, so her story was very different to May’s, but she explained it with such clarity in her voice; no one’s story was the same.

“We all have different experiences in life, don’t we?” said April, clutching May’s hand. She was such a motherly figure, to no surprise; after all, she had kids of her own. “I’ve been with my husband in really good times and really shitty times, to say the least. It was only a few seconds later after meeting Will that I saw colour, and that was that, but I know it’s not the same for everybody. Some people have reported that it’s taken them a few hours, or even  _ days  _ for their colours to come to life. As soon as you find that person, though… well, you have to grab them and never let go of them, okay?”

May nodded. Because April was such a motherly figure, it didn’t surprise May when she presented them with bounds of sound advice when May asked for it. She was the same with Juliet, after all; it was just her nature, but it was incredibly pure-hearted of her. April’s quick life lesson had proven that life wasn’t the same for everyone -- and while May already knew that, it was when they heard it from someone else that they truly believed it.

And so, they knew what they needed to do.

They needed to find their soulmate.

“Let’s go and see if we can find your soulmate, huh?” said April, standing up and offering a hand to May, who agreed and smiled.

April and May practically skipped down the halls of the extravagant palace, which May was seeing in its fullest capacity. It was still strange to see colour, but they were already getting used to it. The two avoided people wherever they could, and ended up ducking into a large music room, which was only slightly busy. Juliet was dancing in the company of the other unknown faces that had migrated to the music room, but May’s eyes fell on a particular someone.

Seeing him again took May’s breath away. It was like they’d been enchanted by the very sight of him in his fullest form. His skin was so beautiful; it was nothing May had ever seen before. May was right about his hair; it was a very,  _ very  _ dark brown that almost looked black in the intimate lights of the music room. His sleeveless jacket was a beautiful sapphire colour, and the intricate little fleurs-de-lis were a softer shade of blue, one that May couldn’t quite describe. He was so handsome, and May felt so spellbound to him.

He was definitely May’s soulmate. All May had to do was take up the courage of approaching him and introducing themself properly, but…

But they suddenly found no courage at all within themselves.

Instead, they were filled with complete and utter dread at what they were seeing.

Their soulmate was kissing Juliet.

Juliet, May’s best friend, was kissing their soulmate.

_ Shit. _


End file.
